Graphing software that exports SVG?
February 3, 2005 4:40 AM Subscribe
Can any one recommend a graphing calculator type application that can export SVG (more inside).
The company I work for needs to produce some mathematical graphs in SVG format as part of a project using MathML. Currently we are using the webtool part of Mathematica on this page to paste in MathML and the values for x,then copying and pasting the SVG result. The problem is that the format of the graph is not what we need, we need to change fonts, line thickness, values, and add text. Using Mathematica itself, or editing the SVG by hand is not an option, we need something simple for non-experts to use. We could import the SVG file into Illustrator to make the changes, but we'd like to avoid that step. I've tried Amaya but again, it adds that step we could do without. What I would like is a program that we could put in the equation and value range(not the MathML markup) and produce a graph in our required format that could export as SVG. A nice simple application like the old Mac graphing calculator, exporting to SVG would be ideal, but most of the programs I have found so far seem to be quite complex, with command line interfaces, or obscure requirements for the data entry. Also we are Windows XP based, limited in budget. Anyone know if such a thing exists, or got a recommendation?
The company I work for needs to produce some mathematical graphs in SVG format as part of a project using MathML. Currently we are using the webtool part of Mathematica on this page to paste in MathML and the values for x,then copying and pasting the SVG result. The problem is that the format of the graph is not what we need, we need to change fonts, line thickness, values, and add text. Using Mathematica itself, or editing the SVG by hand is not an option, we need something simple for non-experts to use. We could import the SVG file into Illustrator to make the changes, but we'd like to avoid that step. I've tried Amaya but again, it adds that step we could do without. What I would like is a program that we could put in the equation and value range(not the MathML markup) and produce a graph in our required format that could export as SVG. A nice simple application like the old Mac graphing calculator, exporting to SVG would be ideal, but most of the programs I have found so far seem to be quite complex, with command line interfaces, or obscure requirements for the data entry. Also we are Windows XP based, limited in budget. Anyone know if such a thing exists, or got a recommendation?
Does Windows have an inter-application scripting language in the manner of Applescript? If you used OS X, you could use Applescript in conjunction with Mathematica and various PDF-to-SVG conversion tools. Output PDF from your math application, then convert it to SVG with the batch tool.
posted by AlexReynolds at 8:20 AM on February 3, 2005
posted by AlexReynolds at 8:20 AM on February 3, 2005
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Go with a complex, command line driven program such as Mathematica or Matlab (or MathCAD).
I know that's not what you want to hear, especially given the licence costs, but I know for a fact that Matlab included a GUI toolpack that would let you create a script that your non-experts would use. If your settings are standardized then all of them could be set correctly and the only thing the user would see is the GUI for setting the equation and range. If the settings vary from one plot to another, then it turns out that most (if not all) of those can be tweaked by a largely intuitive GUI which is already buit-in to the plot.
I'm most experienced with Matlab, so I know all of the above is true for that. It's been awhile since I used Mathematica or MathCAD, but there are similarities between all the programs for what you are trying to accomplish.
Luck!
posted by achmorrison at 6:49 AM on February 3, 2005